Baby Book - Tummy Wiggles
Today Nyota has a staff meeting, so Spock picks Grayson up from the Pediatric Day Care Center. Grayson is ecstatic to see his father, wiggling all over and babbling at him. Spock picks him up and settles him into the baby carrier against his chest, facing out so that Grayson can laugh and wave at people in the hall. Slowly they make their way home, as Grayson must interact with everyone he sees who is not hurrying about on an errand - and even some of those.
When he arrives at their quarters, Spock lifts Grayson out of the baby carrier and sits him on the floor. He gets out the bright floor cloth and spreads it on the floor, then moves Grayson to the exact center of the cloth, placing three toys equidistant from the small boy on the cloth in front of him. Then he goes into the bedroom and removes his uniform, hanging it neatly in the closet to wear again the next day. He puts on a dark tee-shirt and loose pants and goes back into the living room. Grayson is sitting on the cloth, one of the toys in his mouth, rocking back and forth, babbling to himself. When he sees his father again, he lifts his arms, going "babababa", but Spock does not pick him up this time. Instead, he seats himself near Grayson and folds his body into his favorite meditation pose.
Grayson eyes his father. He leans over, his hands on the floor, and tries to reach him, but they are too far apart. Spock closes his eyes and goes through a relaxation exercise, knowing that if Grayson makes any loud noise he will immediately come to full awareness. One small part of his awareness is focused intently on his son, even as he enters a light trance.
Grayson wants to be close to his father. They have not played together yet today. Although his father would not call it playing, it seems so to the small boy. He leans over further, until his tummy touches the floor. He wiggles and squirms until he has his legs free. Now he is on his tummy, arms and legs in the air, waving wildly. His mother, if she were here, would probably laugh and compare him to a beached whale.
Since Grayson is still laughing and babbling contentedly, Spock does not rouse.
Grayson reaches out for his father, but the distance is still too great. He wiggles, he kicks, he waves his arms, but he is balanced on his tummy and does not move any further forward. He begins to get frustrated. Now his laughing changes to grunts of determination.
This is still not anything that alarms Spock, so he continues to meditate.
Now Grayson is very determined. He truly wants his father. He puts his hands down on the floor and pushes, hard. He moves forward just a small amount. He wiggles more. He is no longer babbling. He pushes against the floor again. He is so focused, so determined, that he does not hear the door swoosh open or see his mother enter the room. He pushes again and flails out with his hands, succeeding in grasping his father's toes.
Spock's eyes fly open and he looks down at his son in astonishment. Hearing a gasp, he looks up to see Nyota standing there watching. He looks back at his son again. "He was sitting in the middle of the floor cloth. How did he get over here?"